The 30-year-old actress appeared briefly in Superior Court on Thursday with defense attorney Mark Geragos before Judge Elden Fox, who ordered her to return on Feb. 8.

Ryder was arrested Dec. 12 for allegedly stealing merchandise worth $4,760, a felony grand theft. She also was booked on suspicion of carrying painkillers without a prescription.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office was continuing to review the case, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said outside court.

"We want to review all the possible evidence before we make a decision on this case," Gibbons said.

Geragos contends that Ryder was merely carrying items between store departments, not trying to steal them. He said she has receipts for other items she bought in the store, and a valid prescription for the painkillers.

LONDON (AP) - Pierce Brosnan said he plans to make two more James Bond films, but worries he may be too old to carry on after that.

The 48-year-old said his contract expires after the next Bond film, his fourth outing as Agent 007. Filming on the as-yet untitled movie begins Monday at Pinewood Studios north of London.

"I am honoring my contract here but it would be wonderful to do another one. After that, I do not know," Brosnan said.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Some 300 visitors from around the country will experience an above-average weekend, thanks to Garrison Keillor and Minnesota Public Radio.

On a Dec. 15 broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion," Keillor invited fans outside Minnesota to spend a Wobegon Weekend in St. Paul in February. Participation was limited to 300 people - 100 from the East, West and South. Within hours of Keillor's announcement, all the spaces for the East were filled, and the rest of the country was sold out in less than two days. Package prices started at $350 per person, plus airfare.

Keillor wanted to show the rest of the country that Minnesotans don't fear winter, but revel in it.

The Wobegon Weekend kicks off with a supper hosted by Keillor in a church basement on Friday, Feb. 8. The menu includes Minnesota's favorite food, hotdish.

On Saturday, Feb. 9, participants have their choice of local tours before attending a performance of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, followed by a dessert reception.

An ice-fishing expedition on White Bear Lake rounds out the weekend on Sunday.

Keillor is creator of the mythical Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon, "Where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the children are above average." His weekly radio show, produced by MPR and distributed by Public Radio International, is carried on more than 500 U.S. public radio stations.

On the Net:

A Prairie Home Companion Web site: http://www.prairiehome.org

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - "Seinfeld" curse? What "Seinfeld" curse?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus isn't buying it. The actress who played Elaine hopes the third sitcom from a former "Seinfeld" star is charmed - unlike the short-lived series with Michael Richards and Jason Alexander.

Louis-Dreyfus, who said she took a few years to "chill out" and raise her two children, is easing back into it. She's working with her husband, executive producer Brad Hall, and will film only 15 episodes of the series. Most sitcoms make 22 a season.

'"Seinfeld' was a very happy, joyful experience for me, so the idea was, if you're going to go back into television, find a happy, joyful experience," she said.

The U2 singer has used his fame to advocate debt relief for the world's poorest countries and improved trade relations between Africa and the rest of the world.

The Oxfam statement, released Wednesday, said Bono and Harvard University economist Jeffrey Sachs want the southern African leaders to use money saved from debt relief to fight poverty and AIDS in the region.

They're scheduled to meet with the heads of state on Monday in Blantyre before leaving for the capital, Lilongwe.

In Lilongwe on Tuesday, Sachs will present findings of a World Health Organization report that says increased health spending on the world's poorest people would boost economic development and ease poverty levels.

President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi, chairman of the 14-member economic group whose members rank among the poorest countries in the world, is holding a special summit in Blantyre to discuss ongoing fighting in the Congo and the deepening political crisis in Zimbabwe.

NEW YORK (AP) - Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards said she's made some sweeping lifestyle changes since being diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Richards, whose mother also suffered from osteoporosis, said she's taking on the incurable bone-weakening disease with a vengeance.

"I did not want my children to remember my last years the way I remember Mama's," the 68-year-old told People magazine for its Jan. 21 issue. "I've never been a hand-wringer. My attitude is that if there's something wrong, make it right."

Richards said she's taking medication, walking three times a week and going to the gym twice a week.

"I don't trust myself to follow through on my own, so I always hire a trainer," Richards said.

She also has changed her diet and started getting at least eight hours of sleep every night.

Since her lifestyle changes following her 1994 diagnosis, Richards said her bone density has remained steady.

"Taking care of myself is my gift to my family," she said.

The Democrat was elected governor in 1990 but lost a re-election bid to George W. Bush in 1994.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Benjamin Bratt took his family out to the movies for the local premiere of "Pinero," which tells the story of hard-living Puerto Rican poet-playwright Miguel Pinero.

Nearly 700 people attended the two screenings of the film directed by Leon Ichaso. Shot in 28 days in New York and Puerto Rico, "Pinero" also stars Rita Moreno, Talisa Soto, Mandy Patinkin and Giancarlo Esposito.

The 38-year-old actor said he immersed himself in Pinero's work to prepare for the role. A thin, bearded and haggard-looking Bratt in the movie spends a lot of time chain-smoking, snorting cocaine and shooting heroin.

He says it wasn't difficult to leave his on-screen persona behind.

"You just cut the hair and take a shower," he joked.

Pinero, who did time in Sing Sing prison, turned his jail experiences into the 1974 play "Short Eyes." He died in 1988 at the age of 41.